Change It Around
by Indifferent Nobody
Summary: What happens when Cloud garners the attention of six of the most influential men in the city?  Mature, AU
1. Chapter 1

Change It Around- Chapter 1

Cloud moved gracefully behind the bar, mixing and pouring drinks before sliding them across the smooth bar. It was an art, almost like making potions. It absorbed you and you either loved it or you didn't. You were a bartender or you weren't; there was no faking in this field or at least there was no faking for long.

His manager, Adi, came up hair swaying, a sheen of sweat on her forehead. She was a big lady but she took care of them all and no one who stepped out of line knew what hit them when she dealt with them. No, no one had a clue till it was all over and their asses were kicked out.

Adi leaned over the bar, "Get me a Black Russian, a Rusty Nail, and two Cape Cods."

Cloud turned, busying himself pulling out glasses- two old fashioned and two highball.

"Coming right up," he murmured.

He lined the glasses up on the bar, putting ice in all of them, before pulling out the vodka and adding an ounce to one old fashioned glasses and both of the high balls. He quickly added a float of Kahlua to the old fashioned and dropped a cherry in before grabbing the cranberry juice from the bartender's tray and filling both the highballs to the top. Once done he picked up the scotch and added an ounce to the last old fashioned glass before floating the Drambuie on top.

"Done," he said pushing the glasses across the bar to Adi. He nodded to the Rusty Nail, "Someone's going a bit heavy tonight?"

She nodded her head, "I'll keep an eye on him. Man, you just get faster and faster at making these drinks." She shook her head and grabbed a tray, placing the drinks on them and heading off.

***-****(*_*)****-***

Cloud groaned and covered his head with the pillow, burrowing into the comforter on his bed. He sighed in bliss and wiggled against the Egyptian cotton sheets, his skin was easily irritated so while his mattress wasn't the best his sheets were one of the things he splurged on.

The persistent knocking continued so he pulled off the pillow and opened one eye, glaring toward his open bedroom door, a scowl upon his face.

He stepped out of bed, a little shiver passing through him at the cold floor and pulled on a t-shirt, not bothering to put anything over his boxers.

The knocking sounded again and Cloud glowered in the direction of the entrance to his apartment. He stalked to the door and flung it open, "WHAT?"

There was silence for a moment before the man on the other side of the door smiled and held up a bible, "Have _you_ found Jesus?"

Cloud stared blankly at the man before he blinked, "You have got to be kidding me," he stated flatly. He looked at the clock on the wall of his living room before he turned back to the man, rage on his delicate features, "It is 6:30 in the fucking morning. How do you people do it? I just got home a couple of hours ago so I am going to say this once before the threads of my already non-existent patience snap. Do. Not. Come. Back. To. My. House. If you ever try doing this again the question will be have _you_ found Jesus because I will kill you." Cloud tilted his head to the side and stared at the man for a couple more moments, blue eyes dull and bloodshot, "Do you understand me?"

The man stared at Cloud, wide-eyed and clutched the bible to his chest, before nodding and scurrying away. Cloud stared after him for a bit before shaking his head and closing his door, "Seriously," he muttered.

Cloud turned back around and padded to his bedroom, climbing onto the bed and pulling up the covers till spikes of blond hair where the only thing seen of him. Soon his even breathing filled the room.

Another knock sounded at the door and Cloud groaned, "I'm just not destined to get any sleep, am I?" he asked looking up to the ceiling.

He rolled off the bed and answered the door and was met with his best friend's smirking face, "I suppose it'd be too much to ask for you to come back here later when I've actually gotten some sleep and it's not a god forsaken hour? I mean really, 9:30?"

Ashlee smiled and tossed her blond hair over her shoulders, "Yes it would be too much to suppose. Smart boy, you're learning."

"But 9:30?" Cloud replied weakly.

She raised an eyebrow, "So? I'm awake now which is what matters."

Ashlee held up a bag, "I come bearing gifts, I got this from the pastry place up the street. It smelled really good."

She pushed past him, leaving him leaning on the doorway, and made her way into the kitchen, placing the bag of pastries on the table and turning on the kettle.

Cloud glared at the girl making herself at home in his apartment. They really could be mistaken for siblings since they looked so alike. She had ash blond hair, grey eyes set in a pixie-like face, and a petite but curvaceous figure. She might have only been 5'3 but she had more than enough attitude to make up for her lack of height. She was wearing a dove gray halter dress with a black jacket overtop, strappy heels and carrying an oversized bag.

Cloud grimaced at her, moving from the doorway and slumping into a seat at the table, "So you're telling me you woke me up, and this is the second time I've been woken up today mind you, and couldn't even bring a decent caffeinated drink?"

Ashlee looked up at him and raised a perfectly sculpted blond eyebrow, "You should consider yourself lucky I'm even here," she drawled loftily before continuing, "And you saw me put on the kettle didn't you? If someone wasn't so picky about what he considered 'real tea' then you would have had a drink with those. Besides I have something better than a drink with me. Who woke you up before me?"

Cloud shrugged, still managing to make the movement look elegant and as if it had rolled down his body while hunched over the table, "Dunno," he mumbled reaching for the bag she had set on the table and opening it, "Some guy with a bible came by at 6:30 this morning asking me if I had found Jesus."

Ashlee giggled and he scowled, shooting her a dark look. She held out her hands palms up and grinned at him. He reached into the bag and pulled out a croissant, about to pop it in his mouth when his hand got smacked. He glared up at her, "What was that for?"

She looked down at him and sniffed, "How many times have I told you to put it in a plate first?" she huffed, "I swear if you were one of my guys you would be better trained than that."

Cloud looked away and murmured, "It's a good thing I never have or ever will be one of your guys then."

"What was that?" Ashlee asked sweetly.

Cloud gulped, "Nothing- nothing at all."

She looked at him hard for a few seconds before smirking, "I thought so. Moving on to more important things, guess what I have?"

She moved to get a plate, placed it on the table and dumped the bag of pastries on top.

Cloud buried his head in his hands on the table and sighed. There would be no more sleep for a while, "What?" he asked, "What is it that you've got that has made you bother me at 9:30 in the morning? Someone had better be dead or dying…"

Ashlee rolled her eyes. "You're being a dufus," she said flatly as she pulled the newspaper out of he purse, "THIS is what I was talking about."

Cloud looked her blankly, "A newspaper?" He asked.

"It's not the newspaper," Ashlee chirped, "It's what's in it."

"Uh huh, and what would that be? News or maybe even ads?"

"I'm going to forgive your tone and share this with you anyway because you're face is going to be priceless. I'm even going to be kind and not even take a picture."

"Yeah," Cloud replied dragging out the word, "And what is this priceless news that you've woken me up for? Perhaps _another_ yaoi producing company has closed?"

Ashlee's pale cheeks tinted pink, the flush spreading to her ears, as she crossed her arms, "That was only once! And it was important," she pouted.

Cloud smiled at her brightly, "Sure it was. To you."

She slammed the newspaper down on the table, "Well then I'm sure you won't care that Reno-who's been more out of control lately to the point that Rude has to follow and stay with him at work-, Rude, Tseng, Vincent, Zack, and most importantly Sephiroth- since we can't leave the man you touch yourself at night imagining out- are fucking." She finished succinctly.

Cloud jerked out of his chair, eyes wide, and snatched the newspaper off the table, "What?"

"That's right, " Ashlee gloated, "The six men you've fantasized about at one point or another are shacking up. Oh, so is this news important to you now?"

"Shut up," he replied without any heat. He opened the newspaper to the entertainment section and started reading only to start when the kettle screeched.

Ashlee moved the kettle from the hot element to another burner and sat down, "Well Mr. No-One-Here-Makes-Proper-Tea, fix us something. And you call us city folk snobby."

"Well then I must be doing something right if your refined city tastes insists on drinking my tea every time I make it."

He walked over to the counter, reaching into the cabinets above it to take out cups and a tin of tea. Cloud dropped a triangular teabag into each cup before pouring the boiled water on top and leaving space for milk.

"Milk? Sugar?" he asked.

Ashlee stared at him in shock, "What no tealeaves?"

"Nope, too much effort right now. Besides, I didn't even heat the cups."

He placed the cups on the table and walked to the steel refrigerator against the wall taking out some milk and going back to the cupboard to take out the sugar bowl. He brought them to the table, "Help yourself."

Ashlee poured some milk into her cup and added two spoons of sugar, "Aren't you going to fix your tea?"

Cloud looked at her, "I don't think you understand, I'm about to drop over. Tea is not going to help me at this point."

Ashlee shrugged, "Drink some anyway."

Cloud sighed and added a spoon of sugar to his cup before draining it, "There. I've drank the tea. Now I'm going back to bed, you can take your tea to go, you know where the travel mugs are. Leave the paper."

Cloud placed the cup in the sink and exited the kitchen, passing the living room and going down the hallway to his bedroom. He went to sleep with the sound of Ashlee's laughter in his ears.

+-+-(****)-+-+

Cloud woke up again at 4pm and yawned, laying in the bed for a moment. It was warm and comfortable and he didn't feel like getting up. He sighed and got up anyway, there was a bit of cleaning to be done and he had to eat.

He made some chicken alfredo and when he was done decided to make some shortbread cookies. He preheated the oven to 350 degrees and pulled down some flour, sugar, salt and nutmeg from the cupboard before going to the fridge and taking out butter and eggs. He stuck a cup of butter in the microwave to soften it. When it was done he creamed it with half a cup of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt, a dash of nutmeg, an egg. He slowly added 2 cups of flour to the mixture. He took out the cookie mixture and kneaded it before cutting them into different shapes and placing them on a baking sheet. He let them stay in the oven until the edges started getting golden and removed them, placing them on a cooling rack.

After he finished Cloud glanced at the clock, it was 8pm, he had to get ready if he was going to get to work on time. He went to his room and pulled one of his sets of work clothing. It consisted of a marlow wine coloured, silk dress shirt and a pair of black dress pants. He frowned as he saw the wrinkles on them and placed them on the bed quickly running an iron over them. Once finished he grabbed the platter of butter cookies he had made for his co-workers and headed out the door.

)+(-===+++===-)+(

As soon as he stepped in side Adi rushed to him, "Cloud, you're not on bar tonight, we have some important guests coming in and since you're our top host you'll be entertaining them."

Cloud nodded, "Alright."

Adi released a rush of air, "They won't be arriving till 10 when we open so you'll help us wherever we need you for the next hour. You're room is set up- you've got the private one upstairs- so start with the bar."

For the next hour Cloud stocked up the bars, organized the glasses, and lugged ice from the basement along with cleaned some of the host rooms. At 10 Adi came to him again, "Ok, your patrons are here, go on up to the room."

Cloud nodded and washed his hands before going up to the top floor of the building and opening the only door.

As he opened the door the three men waiting in the room turned to him, two were fat and one was very thin, all wore suits.

He smiled at them and introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Cloud. I'll be your host for the night. May I get you something to drink?" he gestured to the bar.

The men nodded and conferred with each other before one of the fat ones spoke up, "I'm John," he pointed to the other big one, "This is Mark and our other friend is Williams."

Cloud sat down at the remaining chair at the four person table, "Evening gentlemen, I've never seen you before. I would remember if I did. Is there an occasion?"

The men nodded before John spoke up, "We won a big case at our law firm so we're celebrating. Of course we can't discuss what the case was about as it had a sensitive nature."

Cloud nodded in agreement, "Of course not. Would you like some drinks to celebrate?"

The men nodded, "We'll have 3 Godfathers."

Cloud stood up, and moved to the bar. He took out 3 old fashioned glasses, filled them with ice and added an ounce of scotch to each before topping them all with half an ounce of amaretto. He set them in front of the men, "Here you are gentlemen."

Cloud looked at the men he had been serving for the last two hours, keeping the smile pasted on his face. They had gotten steadily drunker as the night progressed, even buying him a few drinks but he was bored-they were as amusing as a funeral service.

He could generally tell what his customers wanted from him, whether it be someone to impress and have simper over them or blunt humour- the vast majority fell in this category and it's what made him such a good host as well as made the establishment so popular- but these men didn't fall into either category. They fell into the few that went to host clubs but still amused themselves. Hosts clubs were wasted on these people as they were paying out the ear for a personal bartender, they may as well have went to a bar- it was far cheaper. These were novelty customers, patrons that came to say that they did. And while that was well and good and still made him money the bottom line was that Cloud was bored.

He resisted a sigh and was about to ask if they wanted anything else to drink, they had went through their godfathers and had moved on to buying a couple of bottles of champagne and wine, when the door banged open.

A fellow host came into the room and bowed, "I'm sorry but I'll need to burrow Cloud, something has come up and he is needed, I'll be his replacement host. My name is Troy and I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

Cloud got up and walked to Troy raising his eyebrows. Troy shrugged and whispered, "I only know that Adi was going crazy. She said to tell you to go to room 3."

Cloud nodded and exited the room, closing the door behind him. He skipped the elevator and took the stairs, he didn't like enclosed spaces and avoided them when he could. When he arrived at room 3 he pushed open the door muttering an, "Excuse me."

He looked at the people in the room and froze, one thought running through his mind, 'Oh my fucking God. This can't be real.'

A/N: And this is the first chapter of my new fic, Change It Around. It's not quite harem but Cloud will be engaging in sexual intercourse with six other people. Feel free to make requests and I will consider them. Thank you for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy.

Change It Around- Chapter 2

Cloud stared at the people in the room for a moment, eyes wide.

"Well shit, it's real."

Sephiroth, Tseng, Vincent, Reno, Rude, and Zack were all in the room with him. Hot damn.

He closed the door behind himself and moved into their vision. Sephiroth frowned at him while Zack grinned, Tseng looked him up and down and Vincent nodded, Reno and Rude didn't show much of a reaction to his presence.

"Hi, my name is Cloud. Would you like something to drink?"

Sephiroth pursed his lips, "So we're real enough to serve?"

Cloud sighed, "So you heard that? I apologize, I was just surprised."

"By what?" Sephiroth asked.

"That the newspapers weren't reporting crap, that you're here, that I'm serving you take your pick."

Everyone but Sephiroth's eyebrows rose at Cloud's response.

Reno looked him over, "Kids got balls, I like him."

Cloud frowned, "You're not much older than me."

Reno shrugged, "Who cares?"

Cloud shrugged back, he didn't-not really, there more important things to worry about.

"What would you guys like to drink?" he asked.

Tseng looked at him appraisingly but it was Vincent that answered, "Surprise us."

Cloud stilled and studied each of them for a moment, looking them in the eyes. He looked into Sephiroth's acidic green eyes. His outfit could only be considered professional, expensive, and versatile. Impossibly expensive, Cloud knew that even with the fair amount of money he made at this host club, Shangri La, he would never be able to afford them without suffering but he knew expensive when he saw it and his fingers itched to touch the material. He generally wasn't impressed by money but practical things were perfectly excusable- and clothing was considered practical.

His gaze moved to who was on the stool next to Sephiroth's beside the makeshift bar, Tseng was sitting there. He looked into those dark, seemingly bottomless eyes. What he was wearing could only be described as smart, savvy and cutting edge.

Next to Tseng was Vincent. Cloud looked into his red eyes and forced himself to remain still, there was pain in those eyes. He glanced at what he was wearing-casual, sleek, sexy. It could practically melt off him like butter.

Reno sat next to Vincent, his blood red hair spilling freely down his back and Cloud looked into those kohl-lined green eyes next. There was wildness in those eyes, something that hadn't-maybe couldn't- been tamed. Cloud looked over his outfit next-liquid, sex, stunning. While Cloud looked at him he stared back and licked his lips exposing a tongue piercing.

Cloud looked at the man settled beside him, Rude was still wearing his sunglasses. Cloud's blue eyes narrowed and he tilted his head studying the body language- calm but ready; his outfit classic, conservative, controlled. This man might be something of a mystery, especially since he was Reno's lover.

Cloud moved his gaze to Zack and almost gawked at his outfit-casual, comfortable, carefree. Everyone else in the room had an outfit that broadcasted power or some form of control, Zack's did not. Cloud blinked and Zack caught his eye before smiling, "I know what you're thinking. Why am I the only one here dressed so casually right?"

Cloud nodded, "Yeah."

Zack lifted a shoulder, "I'm comfortable."

Cloud nodded and started towards the bar when he paused at Zack's next inquiry, "That's it? No more questions, you don't want reasons?"

Cloud shook his head and looked over at Zack, "You said you're comfortable like that. I can understand comfortable." Comfortable could be ones own form of control. One was in their best element/environment when comfortable. Zack had managed to convey the same feeling as everyone else with less effort. Cloud tilted his head, that made Zack a lot smarter and more formidable than he looked. Cloud would make sure not to underestimate Zack.

Zack blinked and the rest of the guys loosened up a bit, Sephiroth's face morphing from a tight frown and becoming neutral. It seemed that he had passed some kind of test.

Zack grinned at him and pulled a face, "I hate suits- they're so constricting."

Clouds lips turned upwards, "I don't think your fellow men agree with you."

He moved behind the bar and started mixing drinks. He had already decided what he'd be getting them all. He started pulling out glasses: 5 old fashioned, and 1 whiskey sour. He added ice to glasses before grabbing an old fashioned and adding half an ounce of Vodka, Kahlua, and Baileys, dropping a cherry in before putting it on a tray-this one would be Sephiroth's.

He grabbed the second old fashioned glass-this would be Reno's- adding a dash of Galliano, Sambuca, Vodka and garnishing with a lemon wedge, it too got added to the tray.

He grabbed a third rock glass and started on Vincent's, adding half an ounce of Dark Crème de Cacao, Cherry Brandy, and Bailey's before it joined the other drinks.

He grabbed the shaker when he started on Tseng's, putting some ice in before pouring in an ounce of Vodka, a dash of Triple Sec, and three ounces of bar mix. He shook the shaker, deciding not to do any fancy tricks with it, and poured it over the ice in the rock glass before adding a slice of lemon as garnish and adding it to the tray.

He washed the shaker out, putting more ice in along with an ounce of Galliano, and a dash of Triple Sec and Rum-this one would be Zack's. He shook and poured it over the last rock glass adding a wedge of orange and a cherry, he set it with the other drinks.

He rinsed the shaker out before adding more ice and starting on Rude's drink, he pored in an ounce of Brandy, half an ounce of Dark Crème de Cacao, and three ounces of milk. He shook the concoction and added it to the last glass, the whiskey sour, before sprinkling some nutmeg on top and adding it to the tray.

He picked up the tray and walked over to the men handing the first drink he mixed to Sephiroth, the second to Reno, the third to Vincent, the fourth to Tseng, the fifth to Zack, and the last to Rude. The men sipped their drinks before exchanging glasses and trying one another's.

Sephiroth looked up at Cloud, "It was good."

Cloud nodded squashing the urge to blush; Sephiroth's words made him happy but he still didn't take compliments well.

Tseng looked up at him, "How did you know which drink was which and who to give each drink to?"

"I put them in the order of which drink I made on the tray and gave it to you guys like that." Cloud replied.

Tseng nodded and Zack spoke up, "What were they called? The drinks?"

Cloud nodded toward him, "Yours was called Yellow Bird, Rude's was a Brandy Alexander, Tseng's was a Kamikaze, Reno's was a Russian Roulette, Vincent's was a Storm Warning, and Sephiroth's was an Iron Butterfly, "Cloud finished softly.

Vincent looked at Cloud, analyzing him, "What made you choose those drinks?"

Cloud shrugged, "Just a feeling. Perhaps one day I'll explain it better, " he looked at Reno, "You should remind me to show you how to make your drink properly, I think you'd like it."

The men seemed to accept that the question was closed.

"What were you doing before you came here?" Vincent asked.

"Entertaining a very boring batch of newbie's." Cloud responded.

"Newbies?" Tseng's raised an eyebrow, "How can you tell?"

Cloud pulled up a stool and sat in front of the semi-circle of men, "Well I haven't seen them before and I've seen most of the people that come here since I serve drinks half the time plus they fell into the newbie category."

Tseng continued looking at him and Sephiroth made a gesture for him to continue.

"There are two kind of people that come here. Those that come for the entertainment, they're our regulars, and those that come to say they've come- the people that have no idea what to do here or even what goes on here. Those are the newbies. The people that I was hosting earlier fell into the latter category."

"Oh? And what do you think of us?" Vincent asked, "Do we bore you?"

Cloud smiled at them and shook his head, "No. Not yet… and I don't think you will."


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Final Fantasy or any of the songs/pieces in this chapter. Songs listened to for this chapter: You Are My Love by Yui Makino, and Our Riotous Defects by Janelle Monae.

Change It Around- Chapter 3

Three weeks had passed since Cloud first served 'The Big 6'- what everyone called the Sephiroth, Reno, Zack, Rude, Tseng, and Vincent combo- and they had come twice more in those three weeks. The last time they came they had asked him to be their exclusive host and promised to make up for the lost customers, Cloud had accepted.

Cloud sighed, he didn't want to be here. Generally he loved his job but today was a painful day, or a day he associated with pain, it was the anniversary of his mother's death. He just wanted to be alone and not have to look at anyone for a day but that wasn't possible since money had to be made. His exclusives were free and coming in today so he needed to be in too.

He straightened his clothing and waited.

When they came in they did a double take of his solemn expression and Zack opened his mouth, Cloud cut him off, "Please come this way,"

Cloud led the men down a couple of halls before he paused between two doors. The men stopped and stared at him, Sephiroth especially.

"Would you like to see my specialty?" Cloud asked, "You've been here three times but you haven't seen it yet."

Tseng raised a brow, "So your specialty isn't serving drinks?"

A smile flitted across Clouds face before vanishing to be replaced by a look of neutrality, "No. That's just something I'm good at."

The big six exchanged looks, glancing at Cloud's unmoving form before Vincent nodded, "Show us your specialty."

Cloud opened the door to the right and led them into a plush yet simple room. The floors were carpeted and there were chairs surrounding a large table. In the corner of the room was a baby grand piano and in front of it was a kitchenette.

Cloud crossed the room to the piano and ran his fingers across the keys, a bittersweet look on his face. He looked up at them and murmured, "Would you like some tea?"

Sephiroth answered for them all, "Yes, thank you."

Cloud moved to the kitchenette and opened the cupboard his hand hovering in front of a couple of tea tins, "Would you like green or white tea?"

Reno shrugged, "Green I guess."

Rude gestured to Reno and nodded without saying a word, Cloud figured that meant he'd have green too.

Sephiroth stared at him for a moment before folding himself into a chair and answering, "White."

Vincent spoke up next, "I'll have white also."

Tseng's answer was succinct, "Green."

Zack looked puzzled for a moment before he asked, "What's the difference?"

Cloud pulled down two of the tins and answered, "They have different flavours, white is lighter but green is more robust. They're both very good though."

"What will you have?"

Cloud started, he hadn't expected to partake in the tea too, he was just going to serve it.

"White," Cloud responded, smiling sadly, his mother had always liked white, "I'll have white."

The men in the room were watching him carefully, as if not quite sure what to do with this change of attitude; Zack had an expression of empathy on his face.

Cloud frowned, he didn't want or need anyone's empathy, he didn't want pity. He looked into Zack's purple eyes, he had never seen anyone with that colour but then he hadn't seen red eyes either before coming to Midgar. Midgar was a place of new experiences, lots of them.

"What will you have, Zack?"

"Oh!" Zack startled, "I'll have green," he grinned, "Probably couldn't appreciate the white stuff anyway."

"Alright."

Cloud pulled down both tea tins and took out two teapots and filling them with hot water, he did the same thing for the seven cups he pulled out. He filled an electric kettle with cold tap water, and waited for it to boil. When it started to boil he emptied the water from the kettles and put three teaspoons of white tea in one pot and four teaspoons of green tea in the other. He filled the kettle with the green tea in it with four and a half cups of water and the other with the white tea with three and a half before letting the tea steep for three minutes.

Cloud emptied the cups of the hot water before using a strainer and pouring out four cups of green tea and three cups of white tea. He put the cups on a tray and gave one of the whites to Sephiroth and Vincent, keeping the other for himself; he gave the others in the room the green tea.

There was a moment of silence when everybody sipped and appreciated their tea: Sephiroth closed his eyes and hummed appreciating the subtle flavour; Reno stopped fidgeting restlessly and just sipped; Tseng closed his eyes and breathed in before drinking deeply; Rude sipped and smiled; Vincent sipped and sighed, some of the tension releasing from his muscles; Zack cautiously drank some and made a sound of approval.

"This is good," Zack said.

There were murmurs of agreement from the other men drinking their tea.

"Thank you," Cloud murmured as he drank some of his tea. He held up cup up a moment longer to hide his smile. It was nice to have someone appreciate something he made. He finished the tea and stood up, stretching a bit before looking at the piano.

"What kind of tea did you use?" Sephiroth inquired.

"The green was Matcha and the white tea was Yinzhen Silver Needles."

"It was very good. I haven't had tea like this since I was a boy," Tseng said, "You make very good tea."

"Thank you," Cloud blushed and sat down.

There was a tranquil moment of silence as everyone finished their tea before Cloud got up and placed his cup in the sink before collecting everyone else's.

"Would you like to hear a song?" he asked.

He looked at the men relaxed in their chairs and didn't bother to hide this smile-as small as it was. They didn't look like they had a chance to relax much so he was happy they could do that here with him.

Reno answered his question, "Yes, play us something."

"Is this another one of your specialties?" Vincent asked.

Cloud nodded, "Yes."

He moved to the piano bench and sat down before taking a deep breath and playing the opening keys. He opened his mouth and sang, voice low and soft.

_*Ame ni nureta hoho wa namida no nioi ga shita_

Yasashi manazashi no tabibito

Shizuka no bibiiteru natsukashii ongaku

Omoidasenai kioku sama you

Yume wa tobidatsuno chiisana tsubasa de

_Omoi no kienai basho made futari de_

Tooi umi wo sora wo koete

Kurai yoru no naka de watashi wo terashiteru

Yasashii manazashi no anata ni

Aitai…

Cloud finished the song, fingers trailing over the piano keys, and looked at the men. They had stunned looks on their faces.

"Wow," Zack breathed out, breaking the silence, "That was amazing. What was the song about, what language was it in?"

Cloud smiled wistfully, "The song was about missing somebody, it was in Japanese. My mother taught it to me," he finished softly.

"Thank you for sharing it with us," Vincent said, he looked like he wanted to stand, "Do you often sing and play the piano?"

Cloud shook his head, "No, I don't often sing- this song required the lyrics to do it justice." A sad smile came across his expression and was gone again.

"Will you play us another piece?" Rude asked.

Cloud almost startled, he so rarely heard Rude talk- he was just that quiet.

He nodded, "What would you like to hear?"

"Do you know the Moonlight Sonata?"

"Yes," Cloud said.

"Will you play it for me?" Rude questioned.

"Yes."

Cloud closed his eyes, remembering the notes and started playing, fingers floating across the keys as he recalled the first movement and played it. His fingers speed up, going allegretto as it cane to the second movement and then even faster when he got to the third, head bobbing to the beat. He slowed down a bit before speeding up again and finishing with a flourish.

Cloud turned and looked at the men when he finished. A few of them had looks on their faces from puzzlement, surprise, and awe.

"Why are you working here"? Tseng asked, his face expression puzzled, "I'm not an expert but I'm sure you could make it in the music industry."

Cloud shrugged, "I like music but I'm not sure I'd want to do it professionally, besides I was a bit young when I came to Midgar."

"You seem to be a man of many skills, why hosting?" Tseng continued questioning.

Cloud sighed and turned on the piano bench to face them and answered truthfully, "It's a lot better than most jobs and pays more."

"Why do you need the money?" Tseng rapid fired back.

Cloud stiffened and frowned at him, "That isn't any of your concern."

Tseng nodded in response and backed down. Cloud could tell that he wasn't finished with the line of questioning and probably would look him up later, it just seemed like the kind of person he was. Cloud sighed, maybe he should have just not answered but that would have led to the same response. You just couldn't win some.

Zack got up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, concern in his purple eyes, "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

Cloud stared at him for a moment, Zack was always so eager and happy when he saw him at night and in the media, he wondered what it would take for the permanent smile to disappear from his face or to see him truly serious.

He shook his head when he saw Zack was still there and answered, "Nothing's wrong, just memories."

Zack kneeled so he could look Cloud in the eyes, "So you're okay then?"

Cloud smiled, "Yes, I'm alright."

And it was true. Nothing was wrong, at least nothing that hadn't been wrong for years- there was nothing that could be done about his mother's death as the dead didn't get back up and live their lives again.

"Good."

Cloud nodded before doing a double take, it wasn't Zack that just spoke, it was Sephiroth. Why was this good? Why did they care?

He watched the green-eyed man get up, body moving languidly toward him as he flicked that long, glorious, silver hair over his shoulder. In no time at all Sephiroth reached him and Cloud didn't even realize he had moved back on the bench till Sephiroth had trapped him against the wall between his arms.

Sephiroth moved forward a bit till Cloud could no longer see his eyes but just his hair.

"Why do we care?" Sephiroth asked lowly.

Clouds mouth parted slightly, he hadn't realized he asked that question out loud.

"Because we want you," Sephiroth continued, "We want you to go out with us."

Cloud's eyes widened and he resisted the urge to start laughing hysterically.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" he asked, pushing Sephiroth back with his hands so he could see him properly, "You guys have hardly given off the vibe that you're interested in me, if this is how you guys show you like me I don't want to you hate me."

Sephiroth frowned and sat down on the piano bench beside him, "We've visited you four times, and asked you to be our exclusive host, that shows interest."

Cloud blinked and felt his annoyance rise in him, were none of these men normal? He nodded, "Okay, you've got a point but do you know what else shows interest? Being nice to a person does, not questioning him does, smiling does. Are you getting my drift? Besides you guys have a, a sixsome going, there's no way you need me, there's no way you can be bored."

He watched Sephiroth stiffen and knew he might have pushed too far.

"You're right, we don't need you nor are we bored-" Sephiroth said before getting cut off.

Yep, he _had_ pushed too far. It was just that this situation was just so overwhelming and _weird_.

"I apologize, Sephiroth didn't mean it quite the way that came out," the look Sephiroth shot Tseng said _yes he had_, Tseng continued undeterred, "While we do have a good thing going here and are not unsatisfied we all have come to the conclusion that we like and are attracted to you so we thought we would ask you out. Would you go out with us?"

Cloud blinked at the polite request before smiling, wow this was definitely out of this world. This was definitely one of his weirder dreams, sure he had fantasized about all of them alone at one point, okay maybe two or three together at once but he swore that was all, but never had all of them been together. This was not real, that he was hosting for them all was pushing the limits of reality.

Cloud's smile grew a little shaky at the corners and he answered, keeping the smile on his face by sheer will, "No."

They all blinked and stiffened, this was so amusing. A sadistic little part of Cloud buried far back in his mind chortled in glee.

Vincent broke the silence, "May I ask why not?"

Cloud smiled a little wider, yep he definitely was cracking, his dreams were talking back, "Because this is all a product of my imagination," Cloud nodded, "You guys are all a dream, not real, and even if you weren't you don't mix business with pleasure. Nope, no mixing, mixing is dangerous."

All the men had various degrees of amusement on their faces and Cloud took a moment to wonder what was so funny.

"Is there nothing we can do to convince you?"

Cloud snapped back to attention at Tseng's question and shook his head, "Uh uh."

Tseng smirked, "Well that's regrettable. Unfortunately for you we don't accept no as an answer. We look forward to the challenge."

Tseng leaned back into Vincent who moved behind him and Vincent tipped his head backward laying a kiss on his lips. Cloud felt himself harden and held back a moan as he stared at them, resisting the urge to move to them.

He felt a nosebleed coming on when Tseng moaned into the kiss and one of Vincent's hands disappeared beneath Tseng's shirt. Tseng's body jerked and Cloud felt his face flush, oh my god it was so hot.

He jumped when he was pulled against Sephiroth and those green eyes burned into him before thin lips descended on his, a slick appendage forcing its way into his mouth and completely dominating him. He groaned at the dual feeling of the kiss and that hair brushing against him, one of his hands unconsciously gripping that thick silk.

His eyelids fluttered and he tightened his grip on the beautiful locks when his back collided with the wall. He felt Sephiroth groan into his mouth and he moaned back, spreading his legs a bit so he could press closer. The sound of applause brought him crashing back to reality and he blinked, reluctantly letting go of Sephiroth's hair as his face set on fire. He cursed being so fair in his head as he met the amused gazes of the others.

"Are you sure you don't want to just give up now and go out with us?" Reno asked.

Cloud didn't think it was possible to get any redder but he did, he shook his head stubbornly, "No, no mixing."

Reno placed his hand over Tseng's crotch and the man moaned and arched into him, Reno raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

All Cloud could manage was a strangled, "Guh…"

He was so doomed. What had he gotten himself into?

*You Are My Love by Yui Makino, song sang in Tsubasa episode 19 called The Afternoon Piano.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy.

Change It Around- Chapter 4

Cloud stared at the basket full of jars of high quality tealeaves in front of him and swore. He didn't even need to look at the tag to know who sent it.

"Damnit!"

He opened the sealed jars and one by one inhaled the scents of the different black teas, green teas, white teas, herbal teas, and fruit teas. He sighed at the aromas and some of the tension in his body dissolved.

A sudden scowl appeared on his face and he ripped the tag off the basket before throwing it in the garbage. Cloud moved the jars to the cupboard and sighed. Couldn't it have been roses or flowers? He could have thrown out flowers without a second thought. He glared at the basket for a second and jumped when the phone rang.

"Hello?" he snapped into the receiver.

He heard a chuckle, "You don't seem happy about your gift, we thought you'd like it."

"Fuck you, Zack," he growled.

"Definitely," he replied succinctly, "So you did like it?"

Cloud sighed, "This doesn't change anything, I'm still not going to date you guys."

"Well…If you don't want the tea we could easily return it or throw it away. We just thought that you'd like it."

"No! You're not taking it back. The tea is mine."

Cloud could hear chuckling in the background and frowned, "They're with you right now, aren't they? Am I on speaker? Fuck you all, the tea doesn't change anything even if I'm keeping it. And how did you know where I live? Are you guys stalking me?"

"Um…No we're not!" Zack protested.

Cloud was silent for a moment, "Seriously? I'm hanging up now. Don't call me back unless it has to do with work."

Cloud stared at the next gift they had deemed to gift him with, eye twitching. He lugged the heavy ass, top brand complete cookware set into the kitchen and glared at it.

He grabbed the phone off the table and dialed Vincent's number since it was least likely that he and Zack would be busy right now.

Vincent answered on the second ring, "Vincent."

"Who's idea was the cook set?" his voice was flat.

"Everyone's. You're workplace told us that you like to bring in food for everyone so we thought it would be nice."

"Does it look like I can't afford to buy my own pots and dishes?"

"No but we thought you might appreciate the baking things that came with it, we were surprised at the prices on them."

Cloud nearly dropped the phone, "Baking things? What baking things?"

Cloud could practically hear Vincent's frown over the phone, "The baking things haven't come? The shipping for them must have been delayed, they should be there within the week."

Cloud smacked his forehead with his palm, how did they always know just what to get him so he wouldn't throw it away? This was getting ridiculous, soon they'd think he was accepting their advances if he kept keeping the stuff. But who wouldn't? A person would have to be an idiot not to accept top quality cookware.

"Cloud?" Vincent called.

"Fine," Cloud said grudgingly, "This still doesn't change anything."

"Alright. Bye, Cloud." He could hear the smile in Vincent's voice.

"Hmph," Cloud huffed, "Bye."

Ashlee was at the table, eating the snickerdoodles he had made and flipping through her schedule.

"How do you like them?" Cloud asked, distracted by the persistent problem of his courters.

"Mmm, they're good, really good. By now you don't need to ask that question, everything you make comes out practically perfect. I really don't understand it," Ashlee shook her head.

Cloud smiled and teased, "You're just jealous because you can't cook."

Ashlee turned around and mock glared at him, "What! I'll have to punish you for-"

A knock at the door sounded and Cloud frowned, turning toward it, "Give me a second."

He walked to the door and opened it, still frowning, only to gape once he saw who was there, "What are you doing here?" he hissed, "What are you _all_ doing here?"

Reno brushed past him into his apartment, "What a lovely way to greet us after we've taken time out of our days to see you."

Zack gently moved his shocked form to the side while the others filed in, Vincent and Tseng shot him an apologetic look and shrugged.

"Cloud? Who is it?" Ashlee called, "Hurry up and make them go away so we can get back to what we were doing."

Sephiroth appeared in front of him and tilted his chin up with a finger, "But you don't want us to go, do you, Cloud?" he purred.

Cloud shivered. Screwed. He was definitely screwed, and not in the good way. He wasn't getting out of this intact. He prayed that Ashlee wouldn't turn around, he could already see his head on a platter for neglecting to mention this information.

Ashlee turn around and her mouth fell open before she shot a glare at Cloud, "Is that who I think it is?"

Cloud cringed and glared at the guys in the doorway, "They were just _leaving_."

She smiled at him and he twitched.

"No they're not," she said before smiling at the guys beside him, "Gentlemen, come in. Make yourselves at home. Cloud's got a bit of explaining to do."

The men curiously explored his house, looking in the rooms and poking his things, completely ignoring his annoyance. Cloud made his way to the kitchen where he received a scathing look from Ashlee.

"You didn't tell me you were fucking them!" she hissed, "I thought I was your best friend."

Cloud ran a hand through his hair, frustrated, "That's because I'm not- fucking them that is. They want me to and I'm not so inclined."

Ashlee crossed her arms, "And why wasn't I told about this?"

"I didn't think they'd be this serious and you already make fun of me, regarding them, enough as is."

Her face softened, "Sorry, I didn't think you minded so much."

He sighed and reached out to touch her arm, "I don't, it's just that this would have been giving you a lit match in an all wooden building."

Cloud moved past her and put on the kettle, "I'm going to make these guys some tea and try to get them out of here. This place isn't big enough for them all."

Zack wandered into the kitchen, Vincent behind him, and looked around curiously. When he spotted the cookies his face lit up, "Cookies!" he practically squealed, "Can I have some?"

Cloud glared at him, "No."

Vincent smirked at him, "It's nice to see that the baking things got here. How are they?"

Cloud felt his face turn red and he grabbed the tin of snickerdoodles before thrusting them against Zack's chest, "Have the cookies, both of you just get out of my kitchen!"

Zack grinned at him, purple eyes sparkling, "Thanks."

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the two that had _still_ not vacated his kitchen, "Out! None of you are to come in here, the kitchen is off limits."

A few minutes later Cloud came out of the kitchen with tea and gave everyone cups.

"No white or green tea?" Tseng asked.

Cloud's eye twitched, "Sorry, no. People I'm mad at don't get good tea, I'm afraid. If that bothers you feel free to leave."

There was silence for a moment before Zack broke it, "You don't have much here," he said, gesturing to the living room, "Don't you get bored without a TV?"

Reno nodded, "I know, and we'll definitely need to get him a new bed. His sucks, though the sheets aren't bad, and he'll need something bigger. That can be our next gift."

Cloud stiffened and his blue eyes glowed slightly with anger. He slammed the tray he used to carry the tea on the table and glared at them, "Well I'm sorry that you've found everything inadequate according to your standards but not all of us are rich! I'm also sorry that it bothered you so much that you had to go out of your way to replace it for me but I didn't ask you to nor do I want your charity. So if you don't like it, _go_."

As he spoke Cloud's voice got colder and quieter, "I can't believe I liked you guys and considered giving you a chance. You are all jerks."

Zack flinched, his expression somewhere between shocked and confused, "I-"

Cloud cut him off, "_I_ don't want to hear it," he collected the cups and started putting them back on the tray, "Just go."

Rude stood up just as he was going to go into the kitchen and turned him around before pulling his sunglasses down a bit and giving Cloud a view of hazel eyes, "They do not mean it like that, they simply weren't thinking when they said it. We do not think you are inadequate."

Cloud's tense form relaxed a bit and he nodded. Rude stroked his arm and Tseng continued where he left off, "They simply don't know how to censor themselves or think before they speak. We think you're fine as you are."

"Well you had better," Cloud jumped and turned to find Ashlee behind him, she frowned at the men in front of him, "You guys certainly aren't good house guests. You guys didn't even say thank you for the tea and went through all of Cloud's stuff. He probably wouldn't say anything but he's an extremely private person. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

The six got various expressions of embarrassment and contriteness on their faces before they looked at Cloud.

Vincent broke the silence, "We apologize for our behaviour, it was unacceptable. And thank you for the tea."

Cloud sighed and ran a hand through his hair, fluffing up the spikes even more, "It's okay. Can we try to limit these excursions to anywhere but my house in the future?"

Zack pouted, "Aw, do we have to?"

His words seemed to break the tension as everyone smiled.

Cloud smiled and Zack moved back a little, looking wary, "I'm afraid I wasn't really asking. Alright, it's time to get out of my house. I'm willing to go with you to grab something to eat but it will have to be fast because I want the rest of my day."


End file.
